All types of metal will trigger the sensor. There are rules determining how much metal you are permitted to have on you when you pass through the arch.

Should I take off my jacket or coat?

Yes, EU rules require all jackets and coats to be screened using the X-ray machine in the same way as hand baggage.

Should I take off my belt?

Belts with a lot of metal will trigger the sensor.  By removing any such belt before going through the arch, you will avoid having to spend time going back, taking off the belt and passing through the arch again.

Should I take off my jewellery?

Watches or usual amounts of jewellery do not need to be removed. If your jewellery is especially large or could be used to conceal weapons or other banned items, the security officer may require you to remove your jewellery in order to send it through the X-ray machine.

Should I take off my shoes?

No, in general the Norwegian authorities do not require shoes to be removed at security. We have a separate shoe scanner that is used to carry out an additional check if your shoes trigger the sensor in the metal detector arch. However, if the arch selects you for a random additional check you must take off your shoes. This is because such checks are required to be more thorough.

How should I organise my hand baggage before sending it through the X-ray machine?

All loose valuables (coins, iPods, mobile phones, wallets, glasses) should be placed in the pockets of your coat/jacket or inside the handbag/bag being sent through the X-ray machine. As well as preventing thieves from having easy access to valuables, this will also prevent items from falling out of the tray and being damaged or destroyed.

Why must I take my laptop out of my bag?

Since 6. November 2006, EU law has required all laptops to be removed from hand baggage at security. International experience has shown that laptops are used by terrorists to conceal explosives and weapons. All laptops must be removed from bags and placed in separate plastic trays. Passengers are responsible for ensuring that their hand baggage is packed in a way that enables them to comply with this requirement. Because of their many metal components, it is necessary for laptops to be X-rayed separately in order to detect any concealed banned items.

If you are selected for a random additional check, the security officer must search you as thoroughly as he or she finds necessary in order to be certain that you do not have banned items that may constitute a threat to air safety either concealed in your clothing or on your body. Unfortunately, banned items are most easily concealed in the body's most intimate areas. This means we have to check the following areas particularly carefully:

- armpits
- chest area
- crotch

This may feel like an invasion of privacy, but our security officers have received thorough training in performing these types of searches and will carry them out in a way that causes as little offence as possible.

You may always asked to be body-searched by an officer of your own gender. You may also ask for the search to be carried out in one of our designated rooms located behind the security area.

Even if you take off everything metal before proceeding through the arch, the arch may still emit a beeping sound. This happens if the arch has selected you for a random additional check. The arch is set to select a certain number of passengers at random.  If you are selected, the security officer must check you more thoroughly. You may choose to be searched by an officer of your own gender. The security officer will undertake a manual search for banned items. Unfortunately, banned items are most easily concealed in the body's most intimate areas. Accordingly the security officer has to check your armpits, chest area and crotch particularly carefully.  For further information, please see our brochure "Random additional security checks".

You are responsible at all times for the baggage you have with you, and for security reasons you should not travel with items if you do not know what they are. You may be at risk of unknowingly carrying hazardous or banned items in your baggage. Gifts may also contain liquids, which means they will be rejected at security.

For these reasons it is advisable to make yourself aware of gift contents. You may send gifts as checked baggage as long as they do not contain hazardous items. Contact your airline if you are uncertain what items are categorised as hazardous.

You must contact your airline's check-in desk for advice about possible solutions. For example, you could either leave the item at the airport's lost property and left luggage facility or you could send it as checked baggage, assuming it is not also on the list of items banned from being flown in the hold.

Yes, medicines in either liquid or solid form that are required during the trip may be carried in hand baggage. You must be prepared either to taste the medicine or to apply it to your skin. A doctor’s certificate must be presented if the medicine cannot be opened at security.

The rules are determined by the EU and, as a starting point, apply to everyone equally. However, the authorities in the individual countries have some freedom to decide how to comply with the rules. In Norway this is the responsibility of the Civil Aviation Authority - Norway (www.caa.no). As a result, passengers may find that security procedures vary from airport to airport, for example, a particular country may decide to tighten its security because of a heightened terrorist threat.